People
Celebrating The Lover
Harinder Singh 'Mehboob'
by HARINDER SINGH
Prof. Harinder Singh 'Mehboob' passed away on February 15, 2010. The nom de plume he used - 'mehboob' - literally means 'lover' or 'beloved'.
My introduction to Professor Harinder Singh Mehboob's work occurred in Kansas, U.S.A., in September 1993.
I found the opening paragraphs of "The Rider of the Blue Steed" incredible: a fresh, endearing and intelligent approach to the "life-movement" of Guru Gobind Singh.
I would meet him four years later on Vaisakhi Day, 1997, at his home in Punjab. As a contemporary personality, I was most impressed with his religious lyrical innocence, unbridled devotion to Sikh heritage and its institutions, unparalleled evaluation of world literature, uncompromising intellectual honesty and a dervish humility and simplicity. My continuous journey through his works is best expressed as the gold standard for exploring aesthetics, history, philosophy, poetry, folk culture, metaphysics, and contemporary diction - all at the same time.
In the Sikh world, he shall be held in the highest esteem not solely as a literary figure, but as a Sikh who inspired surat - state of consciousness - a way of existing amist everything which surrounds us that most can only hope to glimpse during those sacred moments in life; the state in which "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior" continuously is 'Jo hai so hai'.
Poetry came out of him infused with such genius and perfection as to belie human origin.
Prof. Harinder Singh Mehboob was a pure instrument of the Guru - a rabab upon which Guru Nanak plays an exquisite shabad. In his vast outpouring of style, ideas, and images such as khalas-kudrat, vismaad-naksh, and vijei-tark, he not only captured the whole of the Sikh inspiration, but also transformed it into an exquisite illustration of the Sikh spirit. The most banal experiences were cast in the light of universal truths; the ordinary life of an individual - crowded, busy, and full of uncertainty - is shown to be an elegant and necessary step on one's journey of the ineffable Absolute.
Though he was a professor of English, Prof. Harinder Singh wrote his major works in Punjabi - demonstrating the pinnacle importance of articulating in one's mother tongue. He was a product of the Marxist intellectual movement (a norm among Punjabi intellectuals of his generation), but embraced Sikh thought and lifestyle after graduate studies. The ideological leanings, the progressive journey, and personal limitations were all quite visible in his everyday life.
After the 1984 genocidal killings of Sikhs in India, he became particularly known for his Sikh activism. It is no secret that today‟s most celebrated Punjabi poets used to go seek his remarks and approvals before publishing their work.
He did not simply pen ordinary books, he wrote multiple anthologies that re-defined and re-invigorated the subcontinent's literary scene. His essays, both in English and Punjabi, were bold and insightful. His contributions generated thought-provoking discussions and debates across Punjab‟s borders.
To appreciate "Jhana di Raat" fully, one must delve into it often for the rewards commensurate. The reader who returns to the words finds himself steeped in their beauty and in the depths of their sentiment. I felt as if I was lost in the streets of Lahore; I re-lived the carefree moments and worriless sleep at Nankana Sahib. The love for Punjab and his co-religionists is gracefully articulated in the old glory of multi-cultural desh (nation); a culture born through the Grace of the Guru, and able to live in 'harmony in a world of difference.‟
And lastly, lest we forget, the allegorical depiction of the 1984 genocide in a poem 'nind da katal attey shahid da ghazab' is dreadfully powerful. In fact, it invited the wrath of the Indian state which targeted the Professor for elimination.
In kind, I return to "Sahije Rachio Khalsa" again and again in order to more properly absorb each nugget of information and insight. It is a work rich with Sikh traditions and feelings and with the author's often religiously powerful "mystic logic." Its poetic prose is exemplified by the believer's conviction. The elaborate explanations that the Professor weaves throughout are more than sufficient to satisfy the elements challenging the Sikh traditions from within, as well as from well-planned external attacks. The vocabulary is large; frequently, the sentences are intellectually stimulating.
I believe if this work were to be translated into English, it would establish the universalities of Sikh thought at a global level. It addresses the falsity, cleverness, and shortcomings of anti-Sikh theses; it effortlessly constructs arguments against Sikhi which scholars studying Sikhs haven't yet thought of, and then demolishes them with the fine lyrical balance of Sikh sensibilities. He highlights the grandeur of the Guru.
For me, "Ilahi Nadar de Painde" works its influence at the level of the soul, filtering, like the cry of the loon, through the subconscious. It is an unparalleled poetic rendition of life, love and the Satguru. The epic is a spiritual flight that pierces through the heart and sends shivers throughout the body. It echoes the spirit and thought we encounter in the writings of the stalwarts like Bhai Vir Singh and Mahakavi Santokh Singh.
I ought to delve even deeper into the first volume to feel the prophet-genius of Guru Nanakb. I am saddened the second volume on Guru Gobind Singh didn‟t see its completion by Prof. Harinder Singh; nonetheless, I await its publication.
His works were not the product of literary ambition, but rather should be viewed as acts of service. The religious and poetic traditions that produced Prof. Harinder Singh Mehboob, Bhai Vir Singh, and Prof. Puran Singh can be said to understand all of creation as providing the metaphors of Divine Qualities. Like the Sufi poets Abdur Rahman Jami and Jalaluddin Rumi, Harinder Singh's poetry inhabits many dimensions of life simultaneously. While most poetry leads us through carefully arranged sentiment, he wrote from somewhere beyond this common realm of thoughts and feelings, as we know and define them today.
His poetry is not so much the search for the immanent truth and knowledge, or some discovery to be made in the outer world, but an elaboration of an instant hereness, the immediate inner song of experience that floods this world but is not of it. It is an ecstasy of wisdom that flows into words, sounds, and images. His labour of love is the experience of the whole as well as the parts.
The magnificence of his poetry heartened my faith, his magical words and transcending love arouses an unquenchable hunger in me. Within the folds of his words, I gain entrance to a hidden chamber; I hear whispers that are ancient, yet intimate; I behold an endless love story between an individual being and the Satguru.
An eccentric resident of 'bhutvara' has embarked on his journey to the world hereafter, but his genius made its everlasting impression on this earth. I consider it my great fortune to have visited him at Garhdivala several times, listened to his lectures throughout the land of the five rivers, and enhanced my own outlook with the valuable perspectives of this great teacher.
[The author, Harinder Singh - no relation to the subject of the article - is a co-founder of the Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI).]
February 20, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Inni Kaur (Fairfield, CT, U.S.A.), February 20, 2010, 10:29 AM.
A wonderful and rich tribute to an outstanding Sikh scholar who lived in Sikhi. The panth will miss him. But his work will continue to enrich and inspire the seekers.
2: Sukhi Dhillon (India), February 20, 2010, 1:20 PM.
I never thought much of his writings until now. But after reading the passionate views of S. Harinder Singh, I would like to re-read the author with greater care.